Moorea

After our few days on the island of Tahiti, it was time to move on to the next stop, the amazing island of Moorea…..

The ferry crossing takes only 20 minutes from Tahiti and as you approach Moorea, it’s obvious that this is the South Pacific destination we see in the brochures.  The lushness of the greenery going up into the hills and that amazing aqua-colour sea which gets darker the goes further it stretches out towards the vast Pacific … this is paradise.

After a little hustle and bustle getting the bags, we were on our way to the hotel.  Similar to Tahiti we’re staying at the Manava Moorea resort, but unlike it’s bigger sister, this is a hotel, not apartments.  The moment you arrive, you’re greeted by a member of staff who informs you not to worry about your bags as they will be taken to your room.  We were seated in the open plan reception area (it really is open plan with no outer walls) and given a light refreshment.  As we arrived before 11 a.m., it was going to be about an hour before our room would be ready.

We were told about all the things we can get up to at the hotel and anything we fancied doing, just talk to the staff at the excursion desk.  We also got a tour of the pool and beach areas. As it is Halloween, they have a few parties lined up and as guests we get a free pass along with a free drinkies or two.  There’s also a pumpkin carving competition for the staff.  Things are really shaping up for a fantastic stay.

As we had a bit of time to kill, we grabbed lunch at the poolside restaurant and a drinkies because we can.  Once our room was ready, we unpacked a few bits and then went for a stroll along by the ocean.  We had read about a pretty good restaurant called The Moorea Beach Café, so we called in for a drink.  It has a beautiful setting looking out over the lagoon so we booked a table for dinner, they also offer free pickup and drop-off from your hotel which is pretty handy.

Once we got back to the hotel, all the pumpkins were on display on the walkway heading towards the pool.  The guests get to vote for the best pumpkin, I gave my vote to the kitchen staff and C gave her vote to the reception staff.  We’ve no idea what they win or if there’s even a prize but it’s a fun idea.

After admiring the pumpkins there was really only time to get ready for dinner and as was arranged, our pickup arrived bang on time.  We actually kept it pretty simple for dinner, I went with a pizza and C opted for the seared Tuna, both were very tasty especially washed down with a drink or two. We then grabbed the free shuttle back to our hotel for an early night.

The next day rolls around, first things first, breakfast, again buffet style although they do have an egg station so you can order omelettes, fried eggs etc. cooked to order and the coffee was very good.  Now onto our first outing of the day – a jet ski tour.  After a brief introduction and a quick chat about safety (hold on tight basically) and how to drive we hit the waves with our guide Haki.  If you’ve not been on a jet ski before, the trick is actually to drive as fast as you can and on several stretches, we were hitting 70km. The best part is that it’s not a short spin around the lagoon, it’s actually over a two hour trip racing up along the coast through various bays going in and out of the lagoon, it was exhilarating.

Every so often we’d stop to admire the view before continuing on with Haki leading the way and just one other couple along with ourselves.  After just over an hour, we stopped on a sandbar, basically a very shallow part of the lagoon.  Then it was on with the snorkel gear to swim with the fishes, including mantarays and even sharks, no really, sharks.  It was fantastic and the temperature of the water was cool but so refreshing with the actual temperature around 26C.

After having a blast swimming with the wildlife, we were back on the jet skis again for the return journey, which was even more crazy as the waves had gotten bigger and Haki would go out of his way to do sharper and sharper turns, total madness but we survived and made it back to the hotel in one piece.

On returning back, all that was left to do was, well, splash around the pool for an hour or so :-).

After a late lunch, we had but an hour or so to pass until our next excursion, a sunset cruise. We got picked up by Lisa, who, along with her partner, Leo run the sunset cruises. We set sail at around 4:15pm on a nice size catamaran. There were five others along with our skippers but we managed to get a spot at the very front outside lying back on cushion loungers. All that was left to do was sail around the lagoon and we also headed out past the coral barrier to the open ocean where it was mildly choppy.  There was a slim chance we’d see some whales but we had to be happy with spotting flying fish which was cool.

Once far enough out to sea we turned around and headed back towards the island using the waves and sails to head back just as the sun was setting, it was very relaxing, did I mention that they booze you up with some Mai Tais, which were fab.  The two hours  went by pretty quick and before we knew it we were back on dry land and heading back to our hotel.

For dinner we booked a place called Rudy’s, apparently one of the best places to eat on the Island. Again like a lot of restaurants who have to compete with the big resorts, you get picked up and dropped back again after your meal.

Rudy’s was fine, it was no worse or better than a lot of the places to eat, after all sometimes you forget exactly where you are, you’re a long way from anywhere and getting food supplies here is a big deal.  Anyhow, C opted for the parrot fish, which looked nothing like a parrot, I went with duck, which seems to be the next most popular choice on most menus after fish. Both dishes were ok but nothing amazing. For an extra treat we shared a papaya and pineapple tart, which was tasty.

The following day, we had an early start so breakfast was done and dusted by 7:30 as we were been picked up for a jeep safari into the interior of the Island.  Our guide Patrick, originally from Switzerland and has lived on the island for over 20 years, arrived bang on time.  Like our tour guide Tracey on Tahiti, Patrick has a wealth of knowledge about Polynesian culture and history which made for an interesting morning.  We visited traditional temples, which are basically stone walls, a pineapple plantation which is actually the second biggest industry on the island after tourism. Then it was onto a lookout tower of sorts that offered amazing views of the coast followed by a trip to a jam factory which uses tropical fruits to make jam. I use the word factory loosely, basically it’s a large straw shed with a basic kitchen where they make very small batches of jam.  They also have a small vanilla plantation which was cool to see.

After a few other bits and pieces, we finished up at a juice factory where they turn the tropical bounty into alcohol beverages, we sampled ginger, lemon, pineapple, banana, papaya and a few other concoctions.  However we really only liked the pineapple one.

It made for a fun morning driving around the island in our open-top pickup.  After we were dropped back to our hotel and were just in time for lunch.  Lunch was a relaxed affair in a place called La Carmeline which is a bakery of sorts that also does some decent sambos.

After a stroll along the main coast road and checking out some of the gift shops, we headed back to the hotel and hit the pool for the evening. As it was our last evening, we ate in a local place close to our hotel. It was like the food trucks we ate at in Tahiti and the food was pretty good, skewers for C and steak for me.

That’s it, two islands down, one to go.  Moorea was amazing, absolutely one of the most fantastic places we’ve visited.  The locals are so friendly, the scenery is amazing, the lagoon is spectacular and we could have easily spent a few more nights here as there’s a lot more to see and do.  But onwards and upwards, we’ve a flight to catch to our next stop, the island of Bora Bora.

C&J